Eagle Rare Barrel-Aged Guatemala Red Bourbon

Heady aromas of vanilla, Concord grape, and molasses introduce this smooth, boozy coffee. Dark chocolate and marzipan notes accompany cherry acidity and butter toffee sweetness when sipped. Toasted walnut and red grapefruit emerge in the finish, with a lingering toasty bourbon note.

Final roast Monday, 10/21. All items in your order will be held to ship with this coffee on 10/21 unless you request otherwise in the "Special Instructions" section of your shopping cart.

Coffee Details

Producer: Juan Diego de la Cerda Farm: Finca El Socorro Region: Guatemala Department Altitude: 1,800-1,890 masl Varietal: Red Bourbon Process: Washed, Aged in an Eagle Rare Bourbon Barrel Roast: Light Notes: Dark Chocolate, Cherry, Marzipan

The Story

The fine folks at Topeka Whiskey Society recently lent us an empty Eagle Rare Bourbon barrel to use for aging green coffee, then visited our warehouse to taste and select a coffee for barrel-aging. They chose Finca El Socorro's Red Bourbon Washed, a Direct Trade coffee from Guatemala, and our roasting team got to work devising a meticulous barrel-aging process.

The Process

Our roasters Mike and Matt developed a meticulous barrel-aging process to ensure the best results:

• Green coffee is added to the empty Eagle Rare barrel and sealed. This is done in batches of 35lbs at 11.6% moisture content.

• The barrel is agitated at least once per day for a week, aging in a 75º warehouse at 52% humidity.

• After seven days in the barrel, the coffee is removed weighing 37 pounds at 14.1% moisture content. 

• The coffee is sealed in a bag and rested to homogenize to 13.7% moisture content.

• Next, the coffee is dried prior to roasting. It spends 2 hours in the roaster at 95º-105º with full airflow, bringing the moisture content down to 12.2%. This "low and slow" approach avoids losing organic matter in the coffee and stripping out volatile compounds from the bourbon itself.

• Finally... into the roaster! At a light roast, the barrel-aged coffee is smooth and sweet with notes of dark chocolate, cherry, marzipan, and bourbon. Enjoy!

Learn more on our blog.

Produced by Juan Diego de la Cerda in the Guatemala Department, this unique offering from /shop/roasters/pt-s-coffee-roasting showcases the intersection of traditional cultivation and experimental post-harvest techniques. The coffee features the Red Bourbon varietal, grown at elevations between 1800 and 1890 masl. While standard washed processing typically emphasizes a coffee’s inherent acidity and clarity, this specific lot undergoes an additional aging phase inside Eagle Rare bourbon barrels. This secondary maturation imparts distinct characteristics, resulting in a profile defined by dark chocolate, cherry, and marzipan.

Barrel-aging is an evolving practice in the specialty industry, often used to introduce complex, spirit-forward aromatics to the cup. When evaluating such distinct flavor profiles, referencing a flavor wheel can help identify how these added barrel notes interact with the base qualities of the Guatemala terroir. This coffee serves as a compelling example of how producers can push the boundaries of traditional processing to create a singular sensory experience.